World Series trophy to make Worcester appearance

WORCESTER — The only Red Sox player who celebrated the team's World Series titles in 2004, 2007 and 2013 is David Ortiz, but millions of fans took part in all three championship parties.

So, is world championship fatigue going to set in?

"I don't think so," said Vanessa Bumpus, exhibit coordinator at the Worcester Historical Museum, "especially with as many years of frustration as Red Sox fans had to deal with. A win is a win, and this one happened at home for, what, the first time in 95 years?"

The hardware from Boston's 2013 World Championship is making the rounds these days, having just returned from a trip to Japan to be with Koji Uehara. It will be on display at the Worcester Historical Museum, at 30 Elm St., from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 17.

The event is free and open to the public and fans are welcome to take pictures.

It will be, according to Bumpus, the 2013 trophy's only appearance in Worcester. As far as she knows, it is the first Red Sox World Series trophy to be displayed at the museum. The World Series trophy is not like the Stanley Cup, with just one piece of hardware passed from champion to champion each season. Each World Series winner gets to keep a trophy, so the Sox have three.

Boston has won eight World Series titles since 1903, but its first five happened before trophies were part of the equation.

While Worcester has a long and storied baseball history, championships have not really been part of it.

The first perfect game was pitched here, and the museum has a copy of the scorecard from J. Lee Richmond's historic gem on June 12, 1880. "Casey at the Bat" was written in Worcester and the museum just closed an exhibit on that poem. Also, Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel's first job as a manager was in Worcester in 1925.

The Worcester Tornadoes won the 2005 Can-Am League title and the museum has artifacts from that season. Jesse Burkett's Worcester Busters were New England League champions from 1906 through 1909, but there are no trophies surviving from that era.

Or fans, for that matter.

The Red Sox may not have won the New England League title, but they are a New England team. They have three surviving trophies, and the most recent one will be in town next month.